Drought killing Texas wildlife

Texans may be worried about their lawns dying off this year, but at least the lack of water isn’t killing anybody in the Lone Star State.

Wildlife across the state isn’t as lucky, say wildlife biologists.

The Express-News has already reported on a couple of occasions that the record drought is killing endangered whooping cranes at the coast. But the tally goes far beyond that iconic bird, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

There have been reports in Central Texas of non-native axis deer dying from a combination of lack of food caused by the drought and cold conditions earlier this year. The pronghorn antelope population in portions of Jeff Davis and Presidio Counties is down. Whitetail deer seem to be doing OK, but that may not last long if the dry weather keeps up.

Biologists are also saying that wild turkey breeding could be nil this year, particularly in the Rio Grande Valley, if dry conditions continue.

Despite the recent rain, the current dry spell is one for the record books. The past six months are comparable to the historic droughts of the 1950s and 1917.

The lack of rainfall has also kept the coastal marshes and estuaries extremely salty. This problem is enhanced by the amount of saltwater that Hurricane Ike drove into the marshes — saltwater that hasn’t been flushed out by a good rain.

The result, state biologists say, is that marsh plants are dying and birds and other wildlife that depend on the rich marshes for their livelihood are having a hard time. For example, the mottled duck, the state’s only year-round resident duck, will have trouble producing young this year.